Target: San Diego City Council
Goal: Prevent expansion of Sycamore Landfill in San Diego and prioritize sustainable waste management and protection of wildlife, rather than increasing the amount of waste that the city processes.
San Diego City Council approved a plan in late September to expand a large landfill into designated open space area, and allow the processing operation to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This development, widely unpopular with residents and conservation groups, would infringe upon wild plant and animal habitat, disturb residential areas, and it represents a failure to prioritize sustainable waste management.
Three conservation groups are challenging the city’s decision through a lawsuit, which will give the council and residents a chance to reevaluate long-term sustainability goals for the city. University of California San Diego, for example, has implemented several innovative measures that have significantly reduced the school’s waste. The university, which aims to produce no waste through recycling and composting, should be a model for the city as a whole. Under the new plan, the Sycamore Landfill would expand by twenty-six acres, nearly tripling the disposal capacity of the operation. This expansion would affect the San Diego Multiple Planning Habitat Area, threatening numerous native plants, and it would endanger many acres of sensitive plant ecosystems, particularly that of the coastal sage scrub. In addition, the 24-hour operation would disrupt wildlife in the area with nighttime noise, light and pollution.
Please request that the San Diego City Council hesitate before going ahead with this damaging project, and consider concerns on behalf of residents, native plants and animals, and the environment. Sustainable waste management and waste reduction overall must be prioritized.
Dear San Diego City Council,
Three conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the city council challenging the approval of the Sycamore Landfill expansion plan. This plan would threaten the health and quality of life for residents and wildlife, and is an unsustainable direction for the city to take.
The landfill would expand into designated open space area, including the Multiple Habitat Planning Area. Such expansion would endanger sensitive native plant communities which need protection, namely the Coastal Sage scrub, and species such as the San Diego Goldenstar, San Diego Barrel Cactus and the Red-Tailed Hawk. Further, the landfill processing would be allowed to operate 24-hours a day and seven days a week. Artificial light, noise, additional dust and pollution would negatively interfere with wildlife especially during the night, seriously threatening populations.
Please consider the concerns of local and national conservation groups and residents, and instead of allowing the destructive expansion of this landfill, prioritize waste reduction and sustainable waste management.
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: orphanjones via Flickr